Walkers Ain't The Only Problem
by hayleyjune13
Summary: Daryl and Melanie Dixon have known each other their entire life, and have been married for six years. The zombie apocalypse is bad enough, but it gets worse when numerous obstacles and people throw themselves at you. Can they get through it together or will it go downhill?
1. Chapter 1

Hunting. That's what Daryl and Melanie Dixon did the best. And right now, they were on a kill streak. "Think 13 is enough?" I asked Daryl, pulling an arrow out of a squirrel. "Better be," he grumbled, wiping the sweat off his forehead. I leveled my crossbow to the ground and slowly walked over to him. "Hey," I said quietly, brushing a piece of dirt off his face. He instantly relaxed, leaning his head into my hand. He placed his hand on top of mine for a second, before releasing it. "I just wish they had the decency to at least thank us for what we do." he muttered quietly, knowing I would still hear it.

"You would think," I repeated, brushing some dirt off my hands. "Granted, most of them ain't from around here," I said, thinking out loud. He let nod, signaling he agreed. I pulled at the string of squirrels around my waist, moving it towards my left hip. "We don't come off as the most appealing people Mels." he said, gesturing to our clothes and faces. I sighed, "They're just judgmental, love." I said, scratching my head with my free hand. He sighed, ending the conversation. We walked beside each other, hands barely brushing against each other, deciding to head back to camp. "I know you don't want me to bring this up, but what are we gonna do about my favorite brother in law?" He chuckled for a moment, before saying, "You only have one, remember?" I smirked, "Yeah, I was at the wedding, I think." He chuckled before wrapping his free arm around my shoulder.

He rubbed his hand along my shoulder, causing goosebumps to appear, before they slowly went down. He slowly let his hand fall back to his bow. Shortly after, he spoke. "I don't know, Mels. He and those assholes don't seem to ever be on speakin' levels and it's getting plum ridiculous." I nodded along as he rambled about Merle. Finally after a good ten minutes, I spoke up. "Dar, there has to be somethin'. Hell, we're already across from Ed and Shane's tents, what more can we do?" I ran my hand threw my long brown locks and pushed it behind my tanned shoulders. "Honestly, I have no clue. Well there's always that one option, Mels." I shook my head, "You know how attached Carl and Sophia are to me. I'd break their hearts and you know how much I love those kids."

He nodded his head, stopping us right before we headed back into camp. "If you weren't here Mels, they'd defintiely hate us for sure. You're the only thing they like about us, seems like." I let out a soft sigh. "Well I guess it's a good thing we got married." I said, softly smiling. He smirked and smacked my ass before coming into the opening of the camp. I saw Daryl turn towards the tent out of the corner of my eye, so I decided I was going to go talk to Carol for a minute about these rabbits. She may know how to cook most things, bu squirrel was definitely not her forte. Poor thing. Not to mention her asshole of her husband beat her all the time. She was extremely skittish.

"Carol?" I called out before walking up to her. "Hi Melanie," she said, with a smile on her face. "Sophia's been itching for you to get back here. She said she needed your help on a math problem that neither Lori or I could figure out. She's over there with Carl if you want to see her." I smiled shortly before replying. "I'll be sure to help her in a bit, Carol. But first I brought you some things." I pulled at the squirrels from my waist and said, "You might need a little help in the cooking department with squirrel." She looked slightly embarrassed, but before it got too bad, I interjected. "But it's fine! It took me like two weeks before Daryl would even eat it again."

She let out a small chuckle. "But shhh, I wasn't supposed to say that." I said, bringing a finger to my lips. "Thank you," she said looking down. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder for a second saying, "You're welcome." I slowly removed my hand from her shoulder, whenever I saw Ed walk out from his tent. "Alright, grab a knife and let's get to work." She grabbed one and said, "If we're gutting these, I don't think I can." I let out a small chuckle. "Happens to all of us," I said, grabbing a squirrel and pulling it to me. "I can do these, no problem. It just ain't meant for some people." She nodded making a face whenever I began peeling the pelt off. I quickly finished and said, "Okay. Now since we don't really have any spices that we could use, we just have to cook as is."

Carol looked at me, taking in everything at once. "What were you before all this?" She asked quietly, not wanting Ed to hear her. "You'll never guess it." I said, cutting the meat into chewable pieces, and placing them in the pot over the fire. "It wasn't a stereotypical job?" She asked. I let out a smile. "I mean, it was a normal job. Well at least to me it was normal. Payed good, too." She stood there for a few moments mimicking my actions before asking, "Medical field?" I nodded no, throwing more pieces into the pot. "I worked in a prison, believe it or not." Her face was full of confusion. "I was a CO." She looked back at me with confusion. "Correctional officer. I basically walked around every hour or so and made sure the inmates were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Of course, we do other things. I've worked in about two jails before, so it depends on the place." She was still confused, as it was written all over her face.

"I made sure, none of them got into any fights. Keep the peace, ya know? Make sure no one escaped. That type of thing." She finally shook her head in agreement. "You look a little-" she stopped, not wanting to upset me. "Wimpy?" I finished for her. Red hinted her cheeks as she nodded. "I get that a lot," I said as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. We both quieted for a moment, staring off into the distance. I looked down at my body and sighed. Sure I was 5'8''. That was pretty tall for girls around here. Dark brown hair with a tan that I'd gotten from the Georgia sun. My light blue eyes stood out against my dark hair. I was fairly curvy, but I didn't have much muscle on me.

You ever break up any fights before?" Carol's voice brought me back to her. I nodded, "Oh yeah. I can't even tell you the number of how many. You'd be surprised at how many people think they can take me. It takes a good deal to take me down." She nodded. "That's really something special though, Melanie. Not many women would do what you did. " She said, with a full smile on her face. A hint of red went to my cheeks as I lowered my head to check the food in the pot. I grabbed a fork as Carol said, "I know this is probably wrong, but wasn't that done five minutes ago?" I shook my head. "No, you have to check the insides. Not the outside, because this isn't like the meat we used to get in the stores." I tore a piece apart, and looked at the inside, which was now a dull brown with a hint of pinkness. "Now it's done." I said, smiling. She quickly shooed me away, telling me to go see Sophia. I excused myself and made my way past numerous tents before tapping Sophia and Carl lightly on the shoulder.

Both jumped from their chairs, letting out little yelps. "Melanie!" they spoke at the same time. "Did I scare you?" I asked, laughing. Sour faces looked back up at me. I slowly bent down and said, "Sorry, didn't mean it. I walk too quiet don't I?" They both nodded. "Look at what we're learning! But I don't know how to do this one, will you help me?" Sophia's sweet voice came to my ears. "Sure thing kiddo," I said ruffling her hair. I quickly showed her how to correctly do the problem, answering Carl's questions every now and then. "Is Mr. Daryl nice to you, Melanie?" Sophia asked quietly. So quiet, I almost didn't hear her, which was saying something.

For a second, I didn't respond. "Yes, he is baby girl. He'd never hut me on purpose." She nodded for a second and said, "Even when he's mad?" I nodded and looked at her in the eyes, "Even when he's mad, he'd never hurt me." She smiled a sad smile and looked back at her school work. "Carl why don't you go see if your mom has something for you to do? I need to talk with Sophia about all that girl stuff, like make-up, cloth-," I barely got my sentence out when Carl interrupted me. "Yeah, I'm gonna go see Shane, see if we can do some _guy_ stuff." He walked away as fast as he could, almost running. I let out a small chuckle and looked at the dirt surrounding my worn out boots. "You don't want to talk about girl stuff do you?" I shook my head, almost sadly.

"Mommy says I'm not supposed to talk about things I don't want to." I placed my hands on her small arms, and ran them up and down her arms. "I know sweetheart, I just wanna know if he does the same thing to you?" She looked down at the ground for a minute or two, before barely nodding a yes. I let out a sigh, pulling her towards me into a hug. "I just wanted to know, why don't you go off and play?" I suggested, giving her a smile. She smiled back before running over to where Carl, Lori, and Carol were standing.

I walked across the camp, heading towards the tent. As I was walking into my tent, I felt eyes on me. I quickly snuck a quick glance to see Ed giving me a look of hatred. I hope he don't say anything to me. Don't need alpha Daryl taking control. I clambered into the tent as fast as I could, quickly throwing myself on the pillow on the ground, next to Daryl's shirtless body. "Kid talk your head off?" he asked, smirking. I lightly smacked his chest, nodding yes. "C'mhere." he said, opening his arms for me to wiggle into. "She told me that Ed hits her today." I said, quietly. I instantly felt Daryl tense under me. "Such an asshole. Men like him don't-" I stopped him before he got any louder. "Daryl we've been here for only three weeks. I think they'd be pretty upset if you just randomly went all Hulk on him. It's not their fault they aren't as observant as we are." He shook his head, nodding in agreement. "He just needs to honestly be put in his place. I know that we should say somethin', but if we do they're just gonna get hurt worse. You know what my mom always said, right?"

"If a man puts a hand on any woman, lord give me the strength to not whoop some ass." He said, laughing. "There you go," I said. "It'll all come out in due time. Hell, we're just now getting to know each and one another." He nodded, scratching his beard every few minutes. We sat in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the sound of each of us breathing. "I think that even though we ain't fitting in just perfect yet, they'll come around." I said, sitting up and running both hands through my hair. He laid there for a couple seconds, before grabbing his shirt and throwing it on. "Yeah," he said, biting his lip. "I'll never forget 'officer' Shane getting us off that interstate. We were incredibly lucky that day."

I nodded my head, agreeing with him. "Saw some deer tracks while we were out today." He said, taking his bottom lip between his teeth. "Wanna go lookin' again? It'll get us away from the group for a bit," I said, letting out a small chuckle. "You know you wanna stay here with Andrea and her full case of make-up." I let out a grumble and punched him in the shoulder. "Watch it woman, I ain't no punching bag!" I smiled. "Sorry." I muttered back. "You're fine, in more ways than one." He said, a smirk plastered across his face. "Back at ya," I said, picking myself up off the ground.

I was instantly met with sticky air as I opened up the flap tent. "Lunch time!" Lori's voice rang out through the camp. "I'll go and grab us a plate, you find us somewhere to sit. Please?" I asked, looking back at him. He nodded, before looking down at the ground. I let out a sigh and walked to Carol. She instantly handed me to plates, knowing Daryl wasn't going to come and get his. I've gotten it for him this entire time and I would, until someone said thanks to him for getting the food in the first place. I gave a curt nod, ignoring Lori's glare. I turned away and headed for the set of lawn chairs Daryl had placed next to the fire pit.

I instantly noticed his dark brown hair peeking out from the head of the chair. He clearly did not enjoy sitting there. I walked up behind him as loud as I could, which was still pretty quiet, and his head instantly swiveled when he heard my footsteps. A small smile stayed on his face for a fraction of a second, before returning into the permanent scowl on his face. I handed him his plate, and felt his hand on mine for a second, thanking me non-verbally. I sent him a soft smile as he readjusted in his seat. I sat down in mine, picking at my food quickly. The entire group had surrounded us and I could tell Daryl was feeling uncomfortable. "Shane. There was deer tracks out there. Mind if me and Daryl take off for a while today and see if we can get her. I know we just brought back 13 squirrels, but we've already used five and that was for breakfast. We need to get bigger game."

He pondered it for a minute, swirling food around on his plate. "Sure thing. Just take water, be careful. You two know the usual." I muttered a thanks as Daryl and I cleaned our plates. We both stood at the same time. "I guess we're gonna head off now. We'll be back whenever we bag the deer." Heads all around started nodding, not really caring. I inwardly scoffed and grabbed Daryl's plate as he got the chairs. Carol's hands instantly wrapped around mine as she took the plates from me. "Be careful out there. Sophia and Carl will miss you. You two be safe." I nodded, placing my hand onto hers. "We'll be back before you know it."

"Should we pack the tent or just bring the other one?" I said, placing a water bottle in his backpack. He pointed to the other one. "Alright. Um, well the sky's pretty fair right now, so I don't think a pop up shower's gonna happen, so that'll be good. I got my call, and you got yours. I think we're ready to leave." I said, standing up and placing my hands on my hips, looking around for any odd and ends we might have forgotten. Daryl's eyes raked up and down my body, taking in the sight of me slightly scatter brained. I bent and down and picked up his backpack. When I was back up right, he was licking his lips. "If I didn't know any better I woulda thought you were just taking her outta camp so you could get a piece of that ass, little brother."

"Oh shut up Merle. You're just jealous you ain't got a woman by your side," I said, side hugging him. He hugged for a second before instantly letting go. "Shut the hell up Merle." Daryl said, tossing a shirt into a part of the backpack. "Aww, come on baby brother I didn't do nothin!" I smirked and said, "Merle, hon, I love you but you really need to learn how to shut the hell up sometimes!" He just let out a laugh, "There's my little spitfire." Daryl's lip pursed instantly, hating how Merle said that. Daryl had called me that whenever we had first met and it stuck. Unfortunately Merle caught on to it. So it was more of a bedroom thing between the two of us instead of a regular nickname. I let out a small chuckle. "Come on Merle, be good while we're gone. Do it for me please?" He crossed his muscular arms as Daryl placed his arm around my waist.

"I'll think about it." I let out a big smile. "You'd do anything for me Merle Ray Dixon and you know it." He laughed loudly and said, "Only cause you got me out of jail." I shrugged my shoulders. "You know that sounds pretty bad if you didn't know the whole story." He nodded, "Yeah. Well, you two be careful. I expect to see you in two days at the latest. Be safe out there." Daryl nodded before releasing me and shaking Merle's hand. I instantly hugged him as soon as Daryl moved out of the way. "Keep them safe." I said, before releasing him and walking towards Daryl.

"Let's go get Bambi's mama." I said, loading my pistol before strapping it to my thigh. "Let's go."

–

Daryl and I sat by the fire, watching the flames crackle into the night sky. We'd tracked the deer until almost sundown and decided to camp out because the deer wouldn't go much farther anyways before it would settle down as well. I wiped my chin, getting all of the leftover grease from the earlier rabbit kill off. "Queen bee is on her little high horse, ain't she?" Daryl asked looking into the fire. "Of course she is. She thinks since she's shacking up with Shane she's head bitch." Daryl pursed his lips and nodded. I let out a long sigh and said, "Well with the way I see it babe, let her rule all she wants." He turned his icy blue eyes to me, laced with curiosity. "If she wants to rule, so be it. You and I are the ones that get her food. If she wants to keep on getting it, she better be saying thanks and not giving us dirty looks every ten minutes." His eyes instantly melted into a softer blue, meaning he was relaxed.

"Gotcha. You're right though, Mels. There's no way in hell you're gonna take shit from her. I've known you all my life. You just ain't gonna back down. I noticed the look she gave you when you didn't say thanks to Carol for giving you the food. I'm surprised you didn't say anything back to her. Stupid." He shook his head and started poking at the fire. I let out a soft chuckle. "Me too honestly." I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, scooting closer to the fire. Daryl's laughter filled the air as I looked to him. "What's so funny?" I asked, looking around trying to find the source of his entertainment.

"You. Not in the bad way!" he said as I felt my face go red. "Why you laughing at me?" I muttered, looking downwards. He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me towards him. "Only you would be cold in sixty degree weather." He continued rubbing his arm around me, creating warmth. "You know me. Hot blooded." I said, smiling. "No fever of a hundred and three though." he said, cracking a joke. "Look at you." I said, grinning. "Don't remember the last time you made one of those." He looked at me a second before placing his lips on my forehead. "Me either," he whispered back. "Maybe if we weren't surrounded by assholes all day you'd hear them a bit more."

"They just don't know you like I do." I said, sighing. "The Daryl I know has a tough, bad ass persona, but has a heart for the people he loves. My architect of a husband knew things that I could never even learn with years of teaching. Just goes to show how people base things off of physical appearances. It's awful. But in all honesty, I don't want them knowing you like I do. That's just for me." He nodded. "I bet half of them think we're white trash rednecks, no doubt." I let out a yawn after he finished talking. "Go get some sleep, I'll take first and third watch." I nodded, getting out of his arms. "What, no kiss?" I laughed and bent down and pressed my lips to his. "Goodnight Daryl. Wake me up in three." He nodded and kissed my cheek one last time before I laid down in the sleeping bag.

–

"Mels, wake up," I heard Daryl say, lightly shaking my shoulder. I instantly opened my eyes and saw him leaning over me. The sky was just beginning to lighten up a bit, so I knew he must be tired. "There's a squirrel by the fire, sorry I didn't wake you earlier. Time got away from me" he said as I began removing myself from the sleeping bag. I stood up and popped my joints, waking up quickly. I grabbed my bow and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "You're fine," I said stifling a yawn. "Go to bed, I'll wake you when we should head out." He nodded, before pecking my cheek and laying down.

I sat down by the fire after I saw the gentle rises of his chest, signaling he was asleep. I tore at the squirrel with greedy hands as I'd fallen hungry while I slept. I threw the bones deeper into woods whenever I was done. I looked around, taking notice of the faint animal calls and the ruffling leaves. I walked around the perimeter of camp for a good hour or so, before returning to my seat by the fire. I picked up my arrows and some pieces of wood suitable for my bow and began carving them. Never couldn't have too many arrows Daryl had told me countless times before.

I'd never forget really getting to know Daryl. Sure, we'd grown up together in the same town, all throughout high school. But when I went to work at the jail, I never saw much of him. I did however see Merle a lot. We'd have to put him in the drunk tank and he'd get fined for public intoxication and be released in the next thirty six to forty eight hours. However, that was just at first. Then came the drug charges and the violence to the patrol officers taking him in. It got nothing but worse. One day the police drug him in and placed him in a holding cell and not fifteen minutes later I heard him hollering, "Let me see the pretty CO! Bring her here!" I knew Merle well enough he'd try some pickup line to help him get out.

I didn't say anything as I approached the cell door. "Hey there, officer Fussell. You know ya wanna let me outta this cell, pretty thing." I shook my head, "Nah. I think you gotta stay in here for a while. Sorry." He sighed, expelling the liquor on his breath. "Want my one phone call now," he said. I nodded and two other officers got him out of the room and walked him over to the phone. I sat down at my desk and checked the clock. One more hour left and then I'd be on my way to my little apartment. "Get your ass down here Daryl!" Merle screamed into the phone. I quickly dad my hour round and walked back towards the drunk tank cells whenever I heard two voices, almost yelling. "What the hell did ya do now Merle?"

That was definitely Daryl. "Alright boys, calm it down a bit." I said, smiling and walking to my seat. "There she is brother! Look at her!" I logged my rounds into the computer and heard Daryl, "I know Merle. I know."

A grunting sound brought me out of my thoughts. One lone walker was walking towards the fire. I placed my bow to my shoulder, instantly shooting the walker. It dropped to the ground with a solid thud. I let out a sigh as I heaved myself off the ground. I placed my foot on the side of its head and yanked out my arrow. I grimaced at the noise it made and sighed once more. I looked up at the sky and saw the sun beginning to peak out. I checked the walker for anything useful, but my search came up empty. I walked back over to Daryl and bent down. "Hey," I said, running my fingers through his brown locks. Daryl's eyes instantly met mine as he reached for his weapon right beside him. "Whoa, it's just me." I let out a chuckle as he sighed out of relief.

"Ready to go?" I asked as he propped himself up on one elbow. "Got any breakfast yet?" he asked, somewhat groggy. I shook my head, "No. We ain't gonna need it after we get this deer here in a few. If we get hungry on the way I'll get us some birds or thumper." He nodded and finally stood up, brushing off some leaves and dirt. "Let's go get this sumbitch." I smiled at his choice of words and put out the small fire. "Let's go." I said, as we took off hand in hand following the deer tracks.

Daryl and I slowly crept along the fallen leaves, making little to no sound as we slowly moved behind a little doe. We turned around a turn, getting closer to the camp. Daryl realized this and rolled his eyes. If this deer kept going it was gonna take off faster than we could shoot it. I stopped for a second, taking a breath and steadying my bow on my shoulder once again. Daryl looked at me and pointed that he was going ahead as I shook my head and shot a rabbit that tried scampering around a honeysuckle thicket. I walked over and picked it up, examining it. There was a good amount of meat on it, so we'd be good for a bit. "Disease ridden, stupid, motherless, poxy bastard!" I heard Daryl holler. I took off as fast as I could to see our group standing around decapitated walker laid beside our deer.

"Calm down, son." I heard Dale, the old man speak up. "What do you know about it ole man! Why don't ya take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond! We've been trackin' this deer for miles! Gonna take it back to camp, get some venison." I let out a sigh as everyone looked somewhat normal with his outburst. "Do you think we could cut around this chewed up part?" I shook my head, and walked up next to him. "Such a damn shame." Suddenly the walkers head began making noises again. "Come on people, what the hell? It's gotta be the brain." He let an arrow fly, piercing it in the eye. "Don't y'all know nothing?


	2. Chapter 2

_**AN: Hi guys! I hope you like this new story I come up with! I'm having major writers block with my other story but this one just wouldn't leave my mind! So please, tell me what you think and leave a review! Please and thanks. -HayleyJune. **_

"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel." Daryl said walking into camp. "Where you at Merle? You better not be playin' games with me." I said, placing my hands on my hips. "Let's stew 'em up." Daryl said, waiting for Merle to walk out of his tent. Shane slowly approached us, "Hey Daryl, Melanie, slow up a bit. I need to talk to you two for a minute. Daryl and I instantly stopped walking. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms as Daryl picked at his fingernails.

"Bout what?" Daryl finally asked as Shane rubbed his shaven face. "About Merle." Daryl and I quickly shared a look full of curiosity and intensity. "There was a, uh, problem in Atlanta." I shifted closer to Daryl, waiting for a snide comment to occur. I looked around, seeing the entire group facing us, looking at us with anticipation. "He dead?" I asked, slowly. "We're not sure," was all he said. "He either is or he ain't!" Daryl said, raising his voice and starting to shift back and forth on his feet. An unfamiliar voice spoke from beside the Spanish man Morales. "No easy way to say this, so I'll say it." He slowly began walking up to us. Daryl swiveled around to meet him. "And who are you?" he said, words laced with anger. "Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes? Got something you wanna tell us?" I said, motioning to us two. "Your brother Daryl, was a danger to us all. So I handcuffed him to a roof, hooked him on a piece of metal. He's still there." My mouth dropped open, shocked. Daryl turned away and started walking back towards me. "Hold on, lemme process this." He said, gesturing to his head with his hand. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother on a roof, and YOU left him there?!" All Rick could say was, "Yeah." Daryl's face instantly turned sour. One of two things were gonna happen. Daryl was gonna be quiet and stalk off or he was gonna hit him. It turned out to be the later. Daryl flung the string of squirrels towards Rick and tried to immediately tackle him, but before he could Shane threw himself at Daryl and forced him to the ground.

Daryl immediately unsheathed his knife as I stayed quiet. "Watch the knife!" T-Dog hollered as Daryl swung numerous times. I knew he'd get tired and as soon as I was about to run in and stop him, both Rick and Shane bum rushed him. "You best let me go!" Daryl hollered as I began to get angry. No one touches him like that to not expect any consequences. "Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane just said smirking back at him. "Hey, choke-hold's illegal!" I hollered back, throwing my birds to the ground. "You can file a complaint later!" he hollered back at me. "You best let him go. NOW." I said, my words laced with venom. "Come on man, we can keep this up all day!" Shane said, not paying me any attention. "Shane, stop it!" I said, running over and forcibly removing Shane off of Daryl. Shane and Rick's eyes went wide, probably because they wouldn't have expected little ole me to pull him off. "I'd like a calm discussion. You think you can manage that?" I asked Shane, spitting out my words. Daryl was seething with anger as he still sat on the ground, breathing angrily.

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." Rick said, crouching down to meet his eyes. T-Dog spoke up from the back. "It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." Before I could say anything Daryl spat, "Couldn't pick it up?" T-Dog shook his head, "I dropped it down a drain." Daryl snorted and grabbed my hand as he stood up. "Well if that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." Daryl instantly took off towards our tent but T-Dog stopped him, "Well maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him."

I let out a little gasp. "It's gotta count for something." I rubbed at my eyes, feeling some tears well in them. Daryl did the exact same. "Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so 's me and Melanie can go get him!" he hollered, his voice cracking at the end.

"He'll show you," Lori spoke up from beside the RV. "Isn't that right?" she said, fanning her face. Rick nodded and looked around before saying, "I'm going back." Daryl swung his hands in the air and went stalking off towards our tent. Everyone else looked at me for a moment before quickly finding something to entertain themselves with. "Shane, a moment?" I said, beckoning him over towards me. He looked at me, waiting for me to say the first words. "Look," I started off. "You pissed him off. If you would just let me handle him it wouldn't have been this big of a deal." I placed my hands on my hips and I saw Lori out of the corner of my eye, listening to our conversation. "This big of a deal, Melanie! He tried to gut me in the middle of camp! So if that's your version of 'dealing' with him, you might need to recheck your definitions." I let out a noise that was full of anger. "And choke-hold's are illegal for officers of the law, if we're going that route"

"That doesn't matter!" he said, hollering back. "Oh yes it does! He had every reason in the damn world to throw a fit like that! You just pissed him off even more with the hold. Ain't it something like, 'If a detainee is uncompliant, other means beside a choke-hold and graphling hook' are expected to be taken'? I'm a CO, I know these things, Shane. You need to back off every once in a while." I shook my head and grabbed my bow. "A CO?" he asked, shocked. "Yes," I said. "Now go talk to your best friend, officer." I walked towards Daryl and instantly let out a sigh. "I'm sorry," I said as quietly as I could manage. "He's still alive, I know it." I shook my head, agreeing. "Nothing's gonna kill Merle, but Merle. Come on, let's go get something to drink real quick."

Daryl and I walked back towards the middle of camp where Shane and Rick were talking. "Now why would you wanna risk your life on a douche bag like Merle Dixon?" I let out a scoff. "Hey, choose your words more carefully," Daryl said, calmly back. "No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant." Daryl just gave him a look and sat on the ground. I grabbed a bottle of water and Lori said, "So you, Melanie, and Daryl? THAT'S your big plan?" I didn't pay any attention as I sat down and worked on my bow too. "Four men," T spoke up as Daryl let out another scoff. "My day just gets better and better, don't it?" I rolled my eyes and let out a soft chuckle. "You'll be fine," I whispered making sure no one else heard. "You see anybody else up here, volunteering to save your brothers cracker ass?" he spoke back. "Why you?" I asked politely.

"You two wouldn't begin to understand. You don't speak my language." was all he said back. "Well that's four men plus me." I said, quietly. "It's NOT just you five. You're putting everyone else here at risk. Just know that, especially you Rick. You saw that walker in here, at camp! They're moving out of the cities and coming up here. We're gonna need every able body we got! We need em to PROTECT camp." I let out a long sigh. "We're gonna be here a while." I said to Daryl as Rick and Shane continued to bicker. "Well they better hurry their asses along, we got shit to do." I nodded. "Hey," I said, gathering the others attention. "Give me the keys to the van so I can back it up and y'all can talk some more." Dale slowly walked over to me and handed them to me. "Thank you." I said, patting his shoulder. I threw the keys to Daryl and he started backing up the truck. "Don't know if I want you going Mels." he spoke softly, waiting for the others. "You know it's better if I go. Lord help the poor boys if I wasn't with y'all." He nodded, smirking. "Ain't that the truth."

Daryl and I stood in the moving truck, pacing back and forth before he eventually got restless. He walked up to the front of the truck and honked on the horn. "Hurry up, it ain't like we got all day!" The men hopped in the back of the truck." After a while of no one talking Daryl spoke up. "You better hope he's okay." T-Dog sighed. "I told you the geeks couldn't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us." Daryl wiped the corner of his mouth with a dirtied rag and said, "You better hope so." We drove in silence for a few more minutes. I scooted a bit closer to Daryl, letting him know we were gonna be okay. That Merle was gonna be okay. Suddenly, Glenn shut off the engine and said, "We're gonna walk from here."

We instantly got out of the truck and instantly started towards the city being as quiet as possible. We took off in a brisk run, taking turns through fences and trees. After we got into the outskirts of the city Rick asked, "Merle first or guns?" I let out a scoff as Daryl said, "Merle first! We ain't even having this conversation." Rick gave him a side glance. "Yes we are, which one's closer?" he said, talking to Glenn. "Merle's closer. Getting the guns first would mean doubling back. Merle first." We took off into a run again, our footsteps quietly hitting the pavement. After turning countless street corners, Glenn led us into a clothing store. "Up there?" I asked, pointing the roof. Glenn nodded as he slowly opened up the door as quietly as possible. Our footsteps were the only thing that was heard throughout the room. Suddenly, I heard a growl. Daryl quickly sidestepped around me and saw one lone girl walker making her way through the room. "Damn, you are one ugly skank," Daryl said out loud right before sending an arrow through her skull.

I let out a small chuckle as we quickly cleared the room out and began making our way to the roof. Daryl's pace instantly quickened the closer and closer we got. "Merle!" Daryl said as he slammed open the door to the roof, looking everywhere for his brother. "MERLE!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. I walked across the roof looking for any clues. "Melanie," Daryl said as the rest of the group formed around a metal pipe with a pair of handcuffs on them. A rack saw was laying on the ground along with a hand and tons of blood. Please tell me Merle did not do what I thought he did. Please, God.

Before I could register it more, Daryl's bow was locked and pointed towards T Dog. The click of Rick's python made Daryl's facade falter for a quick second. "I won't hesitate. I'll make sure every walker in the city hears it." His mouth quivered as he tried his hardest to control his tears. He finally brought down his bow, and I stepped closer. "You uh, got a do rag or something?" I asked, bending down. T grabbed one out of his back pocket and flung it towards Daryl. He caught it easily and bent down beside me. He placed the bandana on the ground and picked up Merle's hand with the very tips of his fingers. "I guess the uh, saw blade was too dull for the cuffs. Ain't that a bitch?" Daryl said turning the hand over looking at it. He finally placed it on the bandana and wrapped it before sticking it in Glenn's backpack which he wasn't too happy about.

"He musta used a tourniquet- probably his belt. There'd be way much more blood if that was the case." I nodded. Daryl didn't say anything else as he started following the trail of blood, leading to where Merle must have went. The trail led us back inside the building and down a set of stairs. "Merle, you in here!" I hollered out. After going further down into the building we saw two walkers laying on top of each other, both dead. "Had enough in him to take these two sumbitches out. One handed too." Daryl said bending down to check the walkers. "Toughest son of a bitch I've ever met. Feed a hammer and he'd crap out nails," I said with a soft smile. "Any man can pass out from blood loss," Rick said, slowly moving forwards. "Merle!" Daryl hollered once more as we turned a corner. "We're not alone here, remember that." Rick said, softly. "Screw that. He could be bleeding out somewhere, you said so yourself." Daryl instantly replied back.

I turned into a kitchen and instantly noticed the smell. Someone had left the gas on. I walked over and saw the burners lit along with a belt and flaky pieces laying on the stove top. "What's that stuff?" Glenn asked crinkling his nose. "Skin." Rick said after a few seconds, voice laced with disgust. "He cauterized the stump." Rick said, turning off the burners. "Like Melanie said, told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle." Daryl said, shaking his head. "Don't take faith on that. He's lost a lot of blood." Rick said, peering around the room. "Well oh yeah. Didn't stop him from busting outta this death trap, trying to survive." Daryl said, pointing the open window.

"You call that surviving?" T said, incredulously. "No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks! You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dead bastard." he said, full of spite. "What about a thousand, dumb dead bastards? Different story?" I let out a small chuckle. They were clearly underestimating Merle. "Why don't you take a tally? You do what you want. Me and Melanie are gonna go get him." Daryl turned towards me, but Rick caught a hold of his shoulder. "Get your hands off me! You can't stop me." I sighed and placed my hand on the small of Daryl's back, instantly calming him just a bit. "Look, I don't blame you. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel." He took a second before speaking again. "He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks but that's only if we keep a level head." I let out a sigh, simultaneously as Daryl.

After a long pause Daryl said, "I can do that." Rick nodded his head, already formulating a plan in his head. "Only if we get those guns first. There's no way I'm strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions." I let out a soft chuckle, "Alright." Glenn and Rick automatically began forming plans and tabulating the best way to get the guns and get back to Merle. "No, that plan is stupid and I don't even like you all that much," Daryl said. Wow, why don't you put it on easy babe. "It's a good plan. Just hear me out, okay. If we go out in a group, we're slow. I'm fast. Look the tank is five blocks from where we are now. The guns not far from them. Daryl, Melanie and I will go into the alley beside the guns. Rick and T Dog will be straight across just in case we need to throw them and dodge."

"You better hope to god this works," I said, hitting the bill of Glenn's hat with a smile. "Hey kid? What were you before all this?" Daryl asked, curiosity lacing his eyes. "Pizza delivery. Why?" Glenn said. We all just shook our heads and grabbed our weapons. We quickly took off our group heading towards the alley. I loaded my bow as the same time as Daryl and let out a shaky breath. "You got some balls for a China man." I let out a chuckle. "I'm Korean," was all he said back. We checked our bows once more before he took off through the streets. "Hope the kid makes it," I said, smiling. A clattering can made Daryl and I turn around, "Who are you?" I asked, smiling. "I'm looking for my brother Merle, ya seen him?" Daryl said. The Hispanic man looked around, shaking, nervous. "AYUDAME!" he began shouting. "Shut up! You're gonna bring the geeks on us." I hissed not wanting this kid to jeopardize a mission. "Answer me, please." Still nothing. "AYUDAME!" he continued shouting. Before I could shut him up, Daryl whopped the crossbow up the side of his head.

"Shut up! You wanna be geek meat!" he said, placing his hand over his mouth. I tried to keep watch for Glenn but everything suddenly went black.

–

"I'm gonna kick your nuts up in your throat!" I heard a familiar voice holler. My eyes were cloudy as I tried standing up. I felt sick to my stomach. As soon as I propped myself up on the wall, I emptied my stomachs contents. "You okay? They took Glenn! That little bastard and his bastard homie friends!" Daryl screamed once more. My head pounded and every noise just made it ten times worse. "I'm gonna stomp your ass!" he shouted again, trying to break free from Rick's arms. "We're cut off! We need to go!" Rick finally let Daryl go as he ran over to me. "You okay Mels?" he asked, picking up the guns. "Those assholes hit like a bitch." I said, rubbing my head. "Let's get the hell outta here." He grabbed my hand and while the others weren't looking, his planted a sweet kiss on my forehead. "Don't scare me like that, okay?" I nodded my head slowly, not wanting my headache to get worse. All four of us plus the hispanic kid took off running away from the infested walker streets.

After running back to the safe building, Rick sat the prisoner down in a chair and began questioning him. "We need to know those men you were with and where they went." I could tell by the look of the kid he wasn't going to give anything up. "I ain't telling you nothing," he said. "Well there's a shock." I said, letting out a sigh and running my hands over my face. "Jesus you two. What the hell happened back there?" T asked. "I already told you. This little shit and his douche bag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me and Melanie." I nodded, "He's right. Hell I didn't even do nothing and got knocked out for it." The man shook his head. "Hey, you jumped me puto. Screaming out about trying to find his brother, like it's my damn fault." I shook my head. "Hey they took Glenn. Mighta took Merle too."

The kid scratched his head. "Merle? What kinda hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle." I anticipated Daryl's move before he even started. I instantly put my hands on his shoulder as his leg came out, trying to kick the boy. Daryl slowly took his hands off me and reached into Glenn's backpack. "Wanna see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" He said, unfolding the bandana. He threw it into his lap, expecting the kid to freak out. Which is exactly what he did. He started freaking out , screaming and hollering. Daryl ran up to him and grabbed him by his shirt collar. "Maybe I'll start with the feet this time!" I walked up behind Daryl and slowly pulled at his shoulders. "Yeah, listen to the pretty woman!" I saw Daryl's face turn sour, instantly. Rick tried to consolidate him. "The men you were with took our man. All we wanna do is talk, try and work something out. Take us where your place is." After much convincing he finally agreed.

After taking the group through countless turns and twists into the suburbs of the outskirts of town, the kid brought us to this run down little building. "Better not be any funny games." I whispered to no one in particular. "One wrong move, and YOU get an arrow in the ass, just so you know." Daryl said, pursing his lips. "G's gonna take that arrow outta my ass and shove it up yours, just so you know." the kid spoke back. "G?" I asked. "Guillermo. He's the man here." I nodded my head and loaded my bow. "Alright, let's go see Guillermo." I pushed him in front of Rick, making him lead the way to their men. Suddenly a door came barreling open. One man in a flannel shirt came walking out, surrounded by two other men. "You okay there, little man?" the man asked, his accent quite thick. "They're gonna cut off my feet, carnal." He shook his head a second before turning his attention to Rick. "Cops do that?" Before Rick could answer, the kid spoke, "Not him. This redneck puto right here. He cut off some dude's hand man. He showed it to me."

"Shut up." Daryl hastily spoke. Another man quickly came out of the door. "Hey man, that's that vato right there homes!He shot me in the ass with an arrow." He cocked his gun, but the first man put his hand on the man, "Chill, ese, just chill." The man instantly backed off. "This true? You want Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick man." I let out a soft sigh and was about to talk before Rick beat me to it. "We were hoping for a calm discussion." He didn't think twice before saying, "That hillbilly jumped Felipe's little cousin. Beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass, and you want a calm discussion?" I rolled my eyes. "Heat of the moment. Mistakes were made on both sides. Shit happens." I said, somewhat softly. "Who is he to you? Y'all don't look related?" Rick spoke, "They are married and part of our group, more or less. I'm sure you have a few like him."

"You got my brother in there?" Daryl asked. "Sorry, we're fresh outta white boys, but I've got Asian. You interested?" he said with a chuckle. I frowned. He was talking about Glenn. "I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade to me." Rick said. Guillermo pondered it for a second. "Don't sound even to me," he said. "G, come on man." the kid whispered. "Look my people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?" "Guns?" I asked incredulously. "The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag that Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns." I shook my head. "I think you're mistaken. That's my bag of guns." Rick said. "Could have been anyone's. I'm supposed to take your word? What's to stop my people from unloading on you right now, and I take what's mine?" My eyes traveled to the numerous amount of men that had lined their way at the door, each one holding a weapon of some sort.

"You could do that, or not." I said, my eyes traveling to T up on the roof in his sniper position. "Oye!" G hollered. My eyes skittered to the top of an adjacent roof where Glenn was up on it, with a bag covering his head. "I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my guns, and everybody walks. Or you come back lock and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood. Everyone immediately began going back inside which left no more room for talking. We slowly backed out, before making our way to another building a block or so away. "Look, Rick, those guns are worth more than gold. Gold won't protect your family, or put food on the table." Daryl said, casting his eyes to me. "You're willing to give that up for that kid?" he asked. "If I knew we got Glenn back, I'd agree. Do you think that vato is just gonna hand him over? No. " T Dog spoke from the corner. "Are you calling G a liar?" the kid hastily said. "Are YOU a part of this? Wanna hold on to your teeth?" Daryl bellowed.

"The question is do you trust that man's word Rick?" I asked, touching Daryl's shoulder with my free hand. "Question is are you willing to bet it?" Daryl said looking down at me. "Could be more than them guns. Could be more than your life. Glenn worth that to you?" He said looking back up at Rick. "What life I have I owe to him," he said holstering his gun. "I was a nobody to him, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn't and neither will I." I rubbed my hands on my face as Daryl said, "So you're gonna hand the guns over?" Rick looked up from the guns and said, "I didn't say that. There's nothing keeping you three here. You should get out and head back to camp." I let out a scoff. "And tell your family what Rick?" He just stood still for a minute before handing me a gun. "Come on this is nuts!" The kid said standing up. I put my hand on his chest and pointed to the ground with my head. He eventually got my point and slid down the wall.

"Let's go," I said as Daryl blindfolded the kid and placed a double barrel against his back. The doors instantly opened as they saw us. Daryl lightly pushed the kid inside as I took in my surroundings. Both groups walked towards each other not saying a word. We stopped about a foot or two from each other. "I see my guns, but they're not all in the bag." Guillermo said, speaking first. "That's because they're not yours." I said. "Let's just shoot these fools right now ese," someone hollered from the back. "I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation here." Rick shook his head and re-leveled his gun. "No, I'm pretty clear. You have your man, and I want mine." he said.

"I gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the nastiest sons of bitches you've ever seen. Picked em up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?" I let out another scoff. "No, my hearing is fine. You said come locked and loaded, and here we are." Rick said as we instantly locked and loaded our guns. "Felipe! Felipe!" A woman's voice broke through the tension in the room. "Abuela, go back with the others now!" someone hollered. "Get that old lady outta my line of fire!" Daryl and I hollered when an old woman came into view. Guillermo turned his head back. "Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? This ain't the place for you right now."

"You sure as hell got that right." I said, rolling my eyes. "We're gonna be in for a treat.


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: Hi guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a little bit! I've been super busy with prom & all my senior arrangements. But I'm here now! Enjoy the chapter!**_

"Follow me," Felipe said, motioning us towards the back. Our guns instantly lowered as we took a closer look around the place. As I took a closer look around the place, I saw countless rooms, each labeled with a unique number. "This used to be some kind of medical facility. See?" I said, pointing to what appeared to be a hospital bed with the railings taken off. "I'll be damned." Daryl muttered under his breath, his cautious eyes frantically searching the rooms.

"Glenn!" I hollered, whenever I saw a red baseball cap talking to an old man in a wheelchair. "Hey guys!" he said, smiling. "The hell man! I thought you were getting torn to pieces by some dogs or shit." T-Dog said, exasperating a long sigh. "It's just an asthma attack. I had those when I was younger. All he needed was he inhaler." I let out a laugh. "Glad to see you ain't been eaten by the nastiest man eating bitches I've ever seen." I said sarcastically, looking at G. He let out a small shrug. "I thought you guys were gonna be vicious. The looks of people these days influence a lot." My head titled. "You saying we look dangerous to you?" I asked, incredulously. He paused a moment before saying, "No offense, but you and your husband look a little-" He stopped, either trying to think of a word or try to not offend us. "Different?" I said. He nodded. "We'll go with different."

"Alright, well tell us about this place." I said, sitting down in an empty chair. "It's pitiful." G began. Daryl instantly moved in behind me, placing his hands on the back of the chair. "It was a nursing home before all this." I felt Daryl's hand move to my right shoulder, lightly gripping it. I placed it over top and lowered my head. "So you use to work here or something?" I asked, looking back up. He paused, once again before saying, "I was a janitor here." All of us nodded our head. "So, you were on duty when it hit or what happened?" Rick asked, leaning on a door frame. "I wasn't. I was at home and I was out this way, and I came through here, and people just left their 'loved' ones here. Ain't so sure they were loved, if you get my drift." We all nodded in silence.

"So now, I run this place. Me and Felipe here, go on runs, get needed things. Be mean to people if we need to you know? I honestly, didn't think you were gonna come in here locked and loaded, we never were going to harm you. Honestly." He said, rubbing his hands together. We all were silent for a moment. "Here," Rick said, holding out a pistol. "No, no. You need those." G said, shaking his hands. "Take them. I know you're going to need them to defend what you have here. This is a great thing. Take them." After a sorting of weapons, we gave them at least a third. It was honestly a little much, but at least we were being gracious. "I'm sorry we can't stay and help, but we've got to get back to our camp." G nodded his head. "That's understandable. We can't thank you enough."

As soon as the doors closed, we took off towards the van. "Sun's gonna be down soon," I said, shifting my eyes across the sky. "Which means we'll need to get back soon." Daryl finished for me. Rick nodded and we quickly began jogging to keep up with him. "Son of a bitch!" I said, as all of us looked around where the van was supposed to be. "I know that I parked it here. Who would take a van?" Glenn said, shaken. "Merle. He thinks that we left him, so he's fending for himself now." Daryl said, slamming a rock down that he'd picked up. "Let's get to running," I said, as Daryl and I both started to take off.

We crested the final hill to camp whenever I heard an ear piercing scream let out. Our paces instantly picked up, as we ran towards camp. The sun was already down, so our visuals were incredibly decreased, but anyone could see the massive amount of walkers that were streaming into the camp. I turned a hard left, while Daryl took a right trying to expand the ground so we could kill as many as possible. People were running all over camp, weapons flying killing any walker in the way. Time seemed to slow as I pulled the trigger on my crossbow until I had none left. I pulled my hunting knife out of its sheath, and impaled a walker in the skull, one by one until I heard nothing. No screams, no gunshots. Just heavy breathing. My eyes scanned the crowd instantly, finding Daryl standing on the opposite side of the camp. I let out a breath as my feet immediately took me to him. My hands instantly wrapped around his neck, as his free arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me close. "Thank God you're safe." He nuzzled his face into my hair as I felt him kiss it. Public affection wasn't our thing, but this time it was needed.

"Amy!" I heard Andrea wail out. I nuzzled further into Daryl, not turning around to see the sad sight. "Please, Amy! No, no, no." She continued to wail out. "Anyone else?" I mumbled. I felt him shake no as I nodded. "Thank god." I let go of him unwillingly and took a look around camp, skipping over Andrea. There was a countless number of walkers lying on the ground, each one with a different wound to it. Everyone was still on high alert as Glenn, Daryl, and I walked around the perimeter of camp two times, making sure we were fortified.

After most had went to bed with the intentions to sleep, I started making my way to our tent. "We should try and get some sleep." I said, slumping my shoulders. Daryl nodded, and picked at his fingernails. "Let's go Mels." I slowly walked towards the tent, stopping briefly to see about Andrea. She was still sitting on the ground with Amy placed on her legs. She'd stopped crying, and was just staring at her face now whispering things I couldn't hear. "Come on," Daryl said, placing a hand on my small of my back and lightly pushed me towards the tent. "You're dead on your feet."

I placed one foot in front of the other, slowly making my way inside the tent. I kicked my boots off and placed them right by the sleeping mattress in the tent. I sat down and took off my socks, looking at my feet. I picked a piece of sock fuzz off whenever I felt Daryl lay down beside me. "C'mon." He said, stretching out his arms. I instantly tucked myself into him and let out a long breath. "I don't think anyone is gonna get much sleep tonight sweetheart." I mumbled into him. I felt him nod his head. "Everyone's gonna be on high alert. You get some sleep. I fall asleep after you, remember?" he said. I let out a small chuckle. "Ever since we've been married you've done that." I traced my fingertips up and down his chest. "That's the way it's supposed to be," he said, nuzzling his face into my hair and kissing it. "I need a bath."

"We both do. We'll go out early tomorrow and get one." He said, letting out a slight yawn. "Sounds like a plan," I said, somehow managing to snuggle further into Daryl. "Go to sleep." I shook my head. "I love you." I said, yawning. "Love you too."

–

"Mels, hon, wake up." My eyes slowly drifted open, still groggy. "What is it Dar?" I asked, sitting up and grabbing my socks instinctively. "Baths, remember?" I nodded my head, remembering our conversation from last night. I threw on my shoes and slowly undid the zipper, peeking my head out. My eyes ventured to the RV seeing Shane pacing on top. Shane's eyes instantly picked up on our movements as I showed him our extra clothes and pointed to the smaller quarry. He nodded and mouthed, 'hurry'. Daryl clambered out of the tent, closing the flap. "Let's go," I whispered. After walking a bit, we came up on the quarry. "You or me first?" He asked. "You go ahead," I said, playing with an arrow. "Okay." he gave me a swift kiss on the cheek before instantly stripping down.

"Stare much?" I heard him call out after he cleaned up and down his arms for a bit. "You're my husband, I can do that from time to time. I think it was in the contract or something." I let out a small smile. "Some shit like that," he said, letting out a small laugh. Our laughter decreased whenever he began to scrub his back. "They're not all that bad." He said. "Daryl," I began. "Melanie, don't." I instantly stopped. He never called me Melanie unless it was serious or we were in danger. "Fine. You knew what I was going to say anyways Daryl." I heard him let out a sigh as I scanned the perimeter once more. "Yes, you were gonna say that yours are worse, and to be told they are, but we've moved on from that. That ain't our life anymore."

My eyes returned back to his muscled form coming back to me. "Ain't our fault we had pricks for fathers." My eyes immediately cast downwards, looking at the dirt stained boots. "But look where we are now." I looked up and let out a small smile, "Can't thank you enough for getting me out of that hell hole." He lightly pressed his lips to my head. "I know, now go take a bath." I side stepped him and immediately began taking off my clothes. My fingers lingered on the hemline of my pants before I began pulling them down. I absolutely hated the long scar that ran from my hipbone to my mid thigh.i shuddered at the memory and instantly dived into the water. I cleaned myself as fast as I could, running the soap quickly over unwanted scars.

"Almost finished," I said, smiling. I met Daryl's eyes. "Good. We need to talk about Merle." My smile slowly faded back. I walked out of the water and let myself air dry a second before putting on my new clothes. "We both know that nothing can kill Merle but Merle. He's out there somewhere, you know that. We just gotta find him." I instantly rubbed my hands up and down his arms, comforting him. "Ain't nothin' gonna kill Merle but Merle." he said, taking my hand in his. "Let's head back to camp." Our quiet footsteps sent us back to camp in a somber mood. "What do you think Andrea is gonna do about Amy?" Daryl's lips pursed for a second before saying, "Hell, I don't know. She's gonna have to make a decision quick." I nodded my head. "It was still her baby sister though." He just let out a sigh. I kept quiet, and let him mull over our thoughts as we walked into camp.

"We need to make sure all these walkers are dead." I said after a large amount of the group had woken up and walked out. "Yeah, we do." Rick said, rubbing his head. I picked up a pick ax and handed Daryl him one as we began making our way around the campsite, stabbing each one numerous times, making sure there was no way in hell it was coming back. I wiped the sweat off my head with the back of my hand and took a breath. I leaned the ax on the ground and placed my weight against it. I looked around the group to notice the figures similar to mine, slouched over breathing heavily. I saw Daryl and Rick conversing with Shane, but thankfully it didn't look to heated. My eyes turned to Andrea still holding onto Amy. Sooner or later something was going to have to be done, but now wasn't the time. When it would happen, it'd happen.

"Jim's bit!" I heard Jaqui holler. I instantly turned to the sound of my husband's angry shouts through the air. My feet instantly took me across the way but instantly stopped whenever Rick cocked his gun to his head. Makes that twice now. "We don't kill the living." Daryl's hard country accent came shining through. "Funny, considering you just put a gun to his head," I spouted off. Rick's eyes came upon mine instantly and relaxed a bit before putting the safety back on. "What happened to zero tolerance for walkers?" Daryl spat back at Rick. "He's right, and I'm not only agreeing cause I'm his wife, but he has a major point with this." I said, leaning back onto my ax. Dale spoke up. "I agree too. Zero tolerance for walkers." Daryl and I both shared a look before giving Dale a nod.

I turned back to my husband and stared at his eyes for a minute. I started to walk forwards whenever I heard a growling noise. My eyes searched the perimeters and saw Amy's body starting to move. My hands reached for the knife on my thigh in case she couldn't do it. I saw her hand slowly move to her gun as she whispered something in her ear. The gunshot rang throughout the camp as Andrea's sobs quieted once more and ceased. She got up and knocked some dirt off her pants and came up to Rick and Shane, slowly. "I'm telling you that the CDC is the way to go." Rick spoke, trying his hardest to make Shane understand. "No, Fort Benning would have weapons, food, ammo, and tons of things that the CDC wouldn't have." Daryl and I slowly made our way to the fire pit and sat down for a while. "Don't matter to us where we go if you're asking which one," I said as soon as I heard Shane's footsteps. "Don't misconstrue our words either." He nodded and took back off to Shane.

"Melanie?" I heard Sophia call out. "Yes hon?" I asked, turning around, speaking softly. I still couldn't get the imagine of Ed's eaten face and body out of my head. Stupid asshole deserved it, but they still lost someone. "I don't want to go to the funeral burying thing. Can I stay with you and Mr. Dixon?" She said looking down, peering at her shoelaces. "Come here hon," I said, opening my arms. She instantly climbed in and went to sleep as soon as she got comfortable. "You staying here?" I asked speaking incredibly low. "Of course." Daryl scooted his chair closer to mine. I laid my head on his shoulder and took in a breath. "We don't do funerals anyways." I felt Daryl's arm drape over the back of my chair and the next thing I knew, I was in a deep sleep.

I felt a weight be lifted off me. My eyes popped open to see Carol taking a still sleeping Sophia off my lap. Daryl nowhere to be found. "He's over by his truck. We decided we're going to the CDC instead of Fort Benning. I can't thank you enough for taking Sophia from me while we- you know." I shook my head. "Thank you Carol. If she ever needs some time tell her to come to me. Daryl and I don't mind. I'm sorry for your loss." She nodded her head before walking back over to her, well little was left, tent. I stretched and folded up our chairs and headed back towards our truck. It's technically Merle's along with the bike, but I guess it was ours now. "Hey," I quietly said, kicking up dust with my boots. "Going to the CDC sound fine to you?" I nodded, finally looking up. "Not too excited about going back in to Atlanta though." I laid the tailgate down and hopped on the bed. "Me either Mels. It was easy last time, but I don't feel this time's gon be easy." I nodded and swung my feet.

"Rick said we're about to leave," Daryl said. "Well what are we waiting for?" I said, hopping off and slamming the tailgate shut. I walked over to the passenger side and hopped in, taking off my shoes and placing my feet on the dash. Daryl quickly climbed in and started the truck up, letting it idle for a minute. "I really don't like this Mels." He said, looking over at me. "I know you don't, but we'll get through this. Nothing can come between you and I, remember?" I said, taking my hand in his and squeezing it a second before letting go. "You and I," he said, placing his hand on the gearshift, pulling it to first gear. "Let's get the hell outta here." I said, rolling my window down, flinging my hand out of it.

"Georgia's beautiful," I said after we had driven for a few minutes. I saw him nod out the corner of my eye. "Definitely my favorite state." Daryl let out a little chuckle before shifting gears again. "You've only ever been in Georgia, Mels. Hard to decide what's your favorite one dontcha think?" I shook my head. "You ain't left here either!" I laughed. "But I know one thing's for sure. It's home." Daryl was silent a moment before smiling, "I wonder what our house looks like?" I uncertainly shook my head. "Hell, there ain't no telling, probably still the same way it was when I ran out of there." He nodded and shifted down gears. "It looks like they're slowing up a bit." I said, as we turned around a curve. "Don't know why they would be. They don't wanna be late for this CDC shit. I mean, hell, come on people, we're on a time schedule." I nodded. "They still keep on slowing," he said, looking down at the speedometer. Suddenly the RV veered over to the side of the road. "What the hell." I said, pulling on my boots.

Daryl shut the truck off as I hopped out, pulling my crossbow out, just in case. "You coming or staying?" I asked, letting out a slight yawn. "I'll come." Both of us held our weapons slightly ready, waiting for anything that came our way. "What happened?" I asked, nearing the RV. "Radiator hose blew out," Dale said, fanning some smoke out of the way. "You got any duck tape? That'll fix it." I said, moving closer. "That's all its made out of now," Glenn said. "I told y'all you needed the one off the moving van Rick brought in," T-Dog said. We all let out a collective sigh. I was about to bring up another improvisation whenever Jaqui came sprinting out of the RV. "Y'all it's Jim." My face scrunched. "I don't think he can take much anymore. Each bump we hit, he cries out." I brought my free hand to my face and rubbed it. "I'm going to the bathroom." I told Daryl as I touched his arm. He nodded before walking off to where Shane and Rick were standing now.

I walked over to the red Chevy that I knew Sophia and Carol were in. "Hey," I said leaning on the door, placing my hands where the window was rolled down. "I'm going to the bathroom, either one of you two have to go?" Sophia looked at her mom for a second before saying, "Yeah." Both of them got out of the car and wiped their pants. "Let's go," I said taking them into the trees. My crossbow was ready, leaning on my right shoulder, arrow ready to fly. I quickly let Carol and Sophia take care of their business. Sophia finished first and came practically running over to me, wrapping herself around me. "You okay?" I asked. She nodded slowly, whispering "I just don't want to be alone." Carol came slowly, still somewhat distraught over Ed. "I'll watch for you," she said, leaning Sophia against a tree. "Take my knife," I said pulling it out and handing it to Sophia. "Just in case. Mom has one too."

I took off a little ways and quickly did my business. "Melanie!" I heard Sophia call out. My feet quickly carried me back to see Sophia looking at Carol who was frozen in spot as a walker slowly approached her. Before anything was said, I pulled the trigger, letting an bolt fly through the air, impaling the walker in the head. Carol let out a shaky breath as she grabbed Sophia instantly. "Let's move," I said, grabbing the bolt out of the walker, and pulling Carol's arm. We quickly made our way to the vehicle where they got in instantly. "Ain't gonna let anything get you," I said, stroking Sophia's hair. Carol muttered a thank you as I walked back over to Daryl. "Why you breathing like that?" he said, placing his hand on my back. "Was peeing and a walker tried to get Carol. Just one though. I made sure." He nodded before squeezing me once and letting go. "We're dropping off Jim here," he said, chewing on his bottom lip.

I turned to face him. "His choice or Shane's?" I asked, jutting my head to Shane. "His. He doesn't want to be a burden. They're fixing to move him out of the RV, gonna say goodbyes and then we're leaving." I nodded once more. "Sounds like a plan." I leaned up against a tree off the side of the road as Daryl stood closer to the RV. T-Dog and Rick slowly came out carrying Jim, slowly. They sat him down at the base of tree, wiping their hands on their pants. I slowly carried myself to Daryl as I draped my hand on his stomach. Everyone had said their goodbyes, and now it was our turn. Daryl slowly walked up to him and said, "Sorry" before walking off. "Sorry about him. I wish you the best, Jim. Go see your family." He nodded and closed his eyes.

I quickly ran back to our truck and hopped in, placing my bow on the floorboard. "Let's go," I said, closing my eyes.

"Mels," I heard. I let out a soft grunt, not wanting to wake up. "Melanie Rose Dixon, you get your ass up now or you'll regret it." My eyes instantly popped open and said, "Daryl James Dixon, don't you even. What's going on?" His eyes were smiling as he laughed at my choice of words. "We're here Mels," he said. I quickly picked up my bow. "This is all or nothing, Mels. I want you by me always." I let out a sigh, "I'm always beside you." He leaned over and gave me a kiss before hopping out of the truck. As soon as we got out, we were met instantly with the smell of decay. My voice instantly left and my stomach bottomed out. Now I know what Daryl meant. This wasn't good. There were bodies upon bodies all scattered around us. I hesitantly put one foot in front of the other, trying not to step on anything. I readjusted my backpack whenever I heard something.

I turned around and let out, "Walkers!" Everyone instantly went on high alert. Weapons were flying left and right, popping off rounds. After most of the walkers were down, I heard Rick screaming at the doors. "You're killing us! You're KILLING us!" I heard him shout as I stabbed another walker in the head. "Rick, we have to go!" I hollered out, trying to make him hear me. "PLEASE!" I hollered as Daryl grabbed my arm, pulling me closer to him. "You ain't leaving my sight! Come on, let's get back to the truck!" Just as soon as we started heading back a bright white light overtook us, causing us to stop completely.

My eyes turned to Daryl as he muttered, "What the hell is this?"


End file.
